It is a known and accepted fact today that sustainable buildings are the future of construction. The increasing awareness about the need for sustainable buildings and the numerous ways in which sustainability can be achieved are now at the heart of discussion amongst contractors and architects alike. In this article, we see what sustainable development entails and the various sustainability assessment frameworks, such as the Triple Bottom Line.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, a sustainable building, or a green building, is one that is based on the design philosophy of optimum resource utilization. This includes maximizing the efficiency of materials and energy resources used in the building, while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact of the building.
Having said that, the scope of sustainability in buildings cannot be conveyed adequately in a single line, so let’s explore what sustainable buildings entail in greater detail.
Introduction to Sustainable Buildings
Construction is one of the primary requirements of civilization, alongside food and clothing. It is a perennial industry that has a significant impact on the global climate and the environment.
According to a Global Statistics report by the World GBC, buildings and construction account for nearly 36% of global energy use and 40% of the total carbon emissions in the world. This is a staggering percentage and gives us a fair idea of the effect construction can have on the environment!
Which is why sustainable buildings are set to be the future of the construction sector.
There are three core principles that sustainable buildings focus on:
1. The surroundings and the position
The location, orientation, and geographic considerations of the building play a crucial role in deciding the maximum sustainability that can be achieved by the building.
2. Optimization of existing natural resources
The idea here is to collaborate with nature rather than go against it, to minimize the use of external energy and maximize the use of natural resources.
3. Respecting environmental principles
The first question sustainable building design asks is, ‘is this necessary?’. This implies that every unnecessary feature that might lead to wastage of resources is to be avoided.
Based on these principles, sustainable buildings- whether industrial, residential or specialized- are designed to reduce wastage, reuse resources for maximum productivity, and recycle all elements to mitigate the environmental impact.
Consequently, the benefits of sustainable construction include lower electricity costs, lower water bills, a better, more ergonomic work/living environment, improved health, and most importantly lower environmental damage.
There are several examples of sustainable, zero-energy buildings in the world. The Change Initiative Building in the UAE, The Crystal tower in the UK, the micro-emission Sun-Moon Mansion in China, the Qatar National Conference Centre, and of course, Masdar City in the UAE are some examples of buildings that have achieved massive energy savings through sustainable construction.
However, having said that, there are several challenges faced by the adoption of sustainability principles in construction. Here is a brief look at the same.
Challenges for Sustainable Buildings
Sustainable development faces challenges on three fronts – social, economic, and technological. Greater living costs, income inequality, and unsuitable production and consumption patterns have led to uncertainty in the spending habits of people.
Economic Challenges
1. Cost
The cost of sustainable development is admittedly higher than that for conventional construction, as the cost of eco-friendly materials and technology is higher. The increased capital cost involved in setting up energy-saving equipment or green technology acts as a deterrent for sustainable design.
Additionally, the higher operating and maintenance costs, as perceived by contractors, are also an off-putting factor.
2. Time
Increase in cost can lead to longer sanctioning times and hence delay the project, which reflects badly on the company’s reputation.
Technological Challenges
1. Unfamiliarity with Green Technology
Familiarity with green technology has not kept pace with the increase in awareness among the engineers and architects in the construction industry. Consequently, though the technical personnel might be aware of the technology in question, the methodology remains a question.
In an article for Construction Week [Ed. Jan 27-Feb 2 2018], Neha Bhatia reports that a lot of green supplements are industry by-products, once considered waste, or naturally occurring materials that can bring the required chemistry to the cementitious mix.
However, the adoption of these practices needs ample understanding and awareness about concrete technology in the Middle East’s construction sector.
This slows the adoption of green technology in construction.
2. Technical Difficulties During Construction
This is an offshoot of the problem mentioned above. Considering that a company does adopt some green technology, technical difficulties that might arise during the construction process lead to longer completion times. Hence, this leads to greater project costs.
3. Lengthy Approval Process
A lot of governments across the world do not have adequate and clear laws in place regarding sustainable development. The approval process takes longer due to all the background checks involved, there are no clear incentives that might influence the contractor, nor are there proper guidelines for submitting green proposals. Consequently, these factors are cumulatively perceived as a risk by developers, leading to slower adoption.
Social Challenges
1. Resistance to Change
Human psychology, as a whole, is slow to adopt change. We have an inherent bias towards anything radically new, which is evident in sustainable development more than ever.
Frances Cairncross, Environment Editor at The Economist, UK, sums up this conflict nicely when he says, “Consumers think “green” only when buying a limited range of goods. Besides, some “green” products don’t work as well as the nongreen sort—think of detergents—but cost consumers more.”
Thus, the lack of awareness about the benefits of sustainability in construction within the common people leads to lower investors in sustainable buildings. The post-completion occupancy rate is small as people do not think about the long-term benefits of living green.
2. Lack of Integrated Design
To this day, sustainable development projects largely work in smaller, independent, niche groups rather than as a single entity. For instance, the MEP consultant might prepare an estimation plan for the building without syncing with the architect as to its layout and orientation. This creates a lot of back and forth between the two departments, which ultimately increases project time and costs. This lack of an integrated design process is one of the crucial reasons why adoption of sustainable buildings is slow.
As a result, overcoming these challenges requires a new, more user-centric approach. This is where the Triple Bottom Line principle comes into the picture.
Sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line
The Triple Bottom Line(TBL) is a framework that focuses on three key aspects of performance – social, environmental, and financial. You can see that these are essentially the same categories of challenges faced by sustainable buildings. Hence, the triple bottom line can offer a practical solution to addressing these concerns. Let’s see how.
The TBL dimensions are commonly referred to as – people, planet, and profits – or the 3 Ps. What sets TBL apart from conventional sustainability principles is that it does not advice, it measures. The TBL framework can be used to analyze the social, economic, and environmental impact of the building. These results can then be used to effectively assess where the building is falling short of expectations and come up with solutions to optimize the same.
The TBL gives an actionable frame of reference for contractors, with the flexibility to set respective KPIs as desired. There is no universal standard for measuring the three TBL categories. In fact, it takes a different perspective altogether in measuring the sustainability of the building, vetting the conventional metrics of measurement.
Economic Measures:
The economic variables affecting sustainable development take into account the income, expenditure, taxes, business climate, and business diversity of the target demographic. Delving deeper, these factors include:
- Personal income
- Employment rate
- Employment distribution by sector
- Establishment sizes
- Establishment diversity
- Percentage of companies in each sector
- GDP by state and sector-wise contribution
Hence, awareness of these factors helps create a sustainable building addressing these aspects in society and creating a positive economic impact.
Environmental Measures:
The environmental variables include all the factors that influence the viability of sustainable development. In other words, these are the factors based on which we analyze the complete environmental impact of the building. This data is usually taken considering long-term trends.
- Electricity consumption
- Fossil fuel consumption
- Sulfur dioxide concentration
- Carbon dioxide concentration
- Solid waste management
- Hazardous waste management
- Use of excessive nutrients
- Changes in land
Therefore, assessing these variables gives a practical idea of the impact the building will have on its immediate and extended surroundings.
Social Measures:
Social metrics focus on analyzing the impact on the health, education, equity of resources, physical and mental well-being amongst people. Enriching the quality of life is the principal aim of sustainable development. Some of the factors it takes into consideration for the same are:
- Median household income
- Relative poverty
- Unemployment rate
- Average education of the population
- Average commute time
- Violent crimes percentage
- Life-expectancy
There are many other variables considering social measures, such as community event participation, the percentage of male and female workforces, etc. The goal of these performance metrics is to understand how well the building does on a social scale, to improve the quality and standard of living for all sections of society.
Benefits of the Triple Bottom Line Assessment
The Triple Bottom Line Assessment provides a number of benefits for all the stakeholders involved in a project.
For instance, the end users have the benefit of knowing how this construction would affect both the quality of their life, as well as the environment around them. It is certainly expected to improve Indoor Air Quality and breathability, thereby increasing productivity. Corporate companies can also bolster their own Triple Bottom Line by having sustainably designed offices. Furthermore, it also makes the user aware of the Cost/Benefits Trade-off for implementing sustainable solutions.
Similarly, the consultants and contractors have a metric for assessing the sustainability of a project. By assigning quantifiable value to each aspect of sustainability, it lends credibility to the practicality of sustainable solutions. On the other hand, for developers, it is beneficial to their reputation as a socially and environmentally responsible corporate brand, bringing in long-term business benefits.
Endnote
The Triple Bottom Line is a tool for better holistic assessment of sustainable buildings, as it offers insights into the customer psyche at the local level. However, a word of caution here – while implementing the TBL as a sustainability assessment framework, it is important to set comprehensive and meaningful indexes for accurate measurement.
The most significant advantage of the TBL in measuring sustainability is the fact that we can tweak the performance metrics as per the type of entity. For instance, the TBL metrics for a residential building might differ significantly from those for a commercial building or a non-profit organization.
This allows the stakeholders to evaluate the complete impact of the building from a long-term perspective and hence pave the way for truly sustainable design.
What are your thoughts on implementing the Triple Bottom Line in construction? Drop a comment to let us know!